A chip-to-chip interface of a multi-chip module (MCM), including: bidirectional data links for transmitting data signals and a direction indicator bit, wherein the direction indicator bit switches a direction of the bidirectional data links in real-time; a clock link for transmitting a clock signal common to the bidirectional data links, wherein the data and clock links are comprised of conductive traces between the chips and laid out to be of substantially equal length; and a clock driver means having a digitally programmable clock signal delay.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
2. The chip-to-chip interface of claim 1, wherein the direction indicator bit is encoded in a redundant bit of the data signals.
3. The chip-to-chip interface of claim 1, wherein at least one of the bidirectional data links is dedicated to transmit the direction indicator bit.
4. The chip-to-chip interface of claim 1, wherein the clock signal delay is programmable to align an edge of the clock signal with a middle of an eye pattern of the data signal.
5. The chip-to-chip interface of claim 1, wherein the clock signal delay is programmed before data signal transmission.
6. The chip-to-chip interface of claim 1, wherein the clock signal delay is programmed during operation and based on a measured temperature or voltage, or a measured delay in a reference circuit.
7. The chip-to-chip interface of claim 1, wherein the clock signal delay is Gray-encoded.
9. The chip-to-chip interface of claim 8, wherein a length of the synchronization pulse is configurable to carry additional information between the first and the second chip.
11. The chip-to-chip interface of claim 1, wherein the data signal comprises at least one redundant bit for error correction.
12. The chip-to-chip interface of claim 1, wherein the bidirectional data links and the clock link are unterminated.
13. The chip-to-chip interface of claim 1, wherein the bidirectional data links and the clock link are provided on a package substrate directly.
14. The chip-to-chip interface of claim 1, wherein the bidirectional data links and the clock link are provided on an interposer or bridge die.
16. The chip-to-chip interface of claim 1, wherein the bidirectional data links comprise a single channel.
17. The chip-to-chip interface of claim 16, wherein the chip-to-chip interface comprises a plurality of channels.
19. The chip-to-chip interface of claim 1, wherein the clock driver circuit is configured to adjust the clock signal delay over a series of steps in response to the clock delay signal, which is encoded such that the clock signal delay is adjusted at each one of the series of steps in accordance with a single bit change of the clock delay signal.
20. The chip-to-chip interface of claim 1, wherein the multiple rising edges for the single transmission comprise delay glitches.
22. The MCM of claim 21, wherein the direction indicator bit is encoded in a redundant bit of the data signals.
23. The MCM of claim 21, wherein at least one of the bidirectional data links is dedicated to transmit the direction indicator bit.
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December 26, 2020
December 31, 2024
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